Reaching Out Sidestories
by WeiXiao
Summary: Bunch of sidestories to my fanfic Reaching Out. Enjoy at your own leisure. Rated M because I already put Reaching Out as M, I might as well put this one as M as well.
1. Kamii

**So while I was typing up chapter 15, I figured I would start writing some sidestories for the fanfic. Enjoy at your own leisure. This will take the perspectives of different characters from the story, whether they be my original ones or the canon ones.**

* * *

 **Ch. 1: Mika**

* * *

The letter's just sitting at my desk. It's been there for a good few hours. We've been having this stare-down for a while now. And honestly, who wouldn't? It's a letter from Kamii University. I took the entrance exam a couple weeks ago. This envelope here is the results of that testing. How did I do? Did I get in? In that envelope is a message that could either crush my dreams or realize them. I'm actually kind of scared to open it.

"You know, that envelope isn't going to open itself, aneki."

I started. I didn't expect to see Seiichi standing at the door. "Seiichi, I know. It's just… I don't know if I can bear to see what's in that letter."

"What's there to see aneki? If you get in, you get in. If you don't get in, you don't get in. And you didn't spend all those hours studying for the entrance examination to lose hope when you saw the letter. Look, if you're just going to open that letter, I might as well open it for you." Seiichi said, walking towards the desk.

My hand slapped his away. "I'll do it myself, Seiichi."

Seiichi smirked. As much as I hate to admit it, he knows how to get on my nerve in just the right way so as to make me move. Unfortunately for me, it's one of his best skills. But I probably shouldn't be surprised. After all, I've had to live with him for about fifteen years now.

I picked up the letter and opened it, taking out its contents. My eyes honed in on a single sentence.

"YES!" I exclaimed, pumping my fist into the air. I did it! I made it into the biology department at Kamii University.

"See? No harm at all." Seiichi said.

I guess my worries were for nothing after all.

* * *

"You'll be fine, right Mika?"

"Okaa-san, I'll be fine. I planned out about everything, after all. And besides, it's not like I need to bring a giant amount of luggage like tons of other girls do." I said.

We were standing at the station waiting for a bullet train to arrive so I could go to Tokyo.

"Just remember, your apartment lease doesn't go all the way until the end of the term, so you're going to have to either renew it or find a different place to stay after it ends. Oh yeah, don't forget about going to Anteiku. I already contacted Yoshimura. He's a good man. Remember, it's not too far from Kamii University."

"Yes, Otou-san. I'll remember that."

They can be a bit worried over small details, but I love my parents nonetheless. Anyway, that's enough about them. The bullet train's coming. I gave my parents a quick hug before getting on the train to Tokyo.

Well, here I go onto my future.

* * *

"Mika Shiraishi, will you go out with me?"

"No."

The boy looked downright devastated when he heard those words. I could almost laugh at his face if this hadn't been the… what was the number now? Fifty? Sixty? I lost count of the people who asked me out.

Next to me, Nishiki smirked. "How many is that now?"

"I lost count a while back."

"Ah, heartless as ever, Mika."

"Shut up Nishiki."

There's a reason I've been rejecting guy after guy. Literally the most any of them have known about me is the fact that I used to live in Osaka. And apparently, I'm considered cute to them, which is why they keep asking me out. I really hope that's not the case. I'm trying to major in biology, not be an airhead model that people can take advantage of. That and I could probably just eat them if they tried anything funny.

It had been a couple of months since the term started. So far, I was enjoying the environment. I had found a job at Anteiku, which was nice as well. The only two things that seemed to bother me were what felt like endless numbers of boys trying to ask me out and the presence of a binge eater in the area. Hopefully, things will die down in the area. Binge eaters aren't healthy for the ghoul environment. There was another ghoul a while back but he transferred over to the United States for school. I'll miss Sosei. At least he didn't try to ask me out like a whole bunch of these guys did.

Other than that, we actually got a new worker a couple of days ago at Anteiku. Some guy by the name of Riku. He said he was here to help show his cousin around for a couple of weeks before he went back to Kyoto. I haven't seen his cousin though.

"So, did you hear that we have a new student coming in?" Nishiki asked.

I had heard a bit about it. Originally, I was going to be the person to show him around, but I decided against it. I was studying for an upcoming test, after all.

A few minutes later, the door to our classroom opened up and a person who I assume was the new guy walked in. The first thing that caught my interest was his eyes. They were mismatched. His right eye was red while his left was black. Interesting. It's quite possibly a case of heterochromia. Which is still somewhat weird. I've never heard of people with red eyes before. Maybe I should ask my father about it. He's an optometrist, after all. The other thing I noticed about him was the general air around him. He seemed like a recluse. He was probably uncomfortable with all the attention he was getting.

"Hi, I'm Sora Chao. I'm the foreign exchange student from the United States. I'm from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where I was majoring in biology with a minor in East Asian Languages. Please take good care of me." The guy said.

Oh hey, a biology major. He should fit just right in. Something feels different about him. He's not like any of the other guys here.

As he struck up a conversation with Nishiki, some things caught my attention. Firstly, he seemed more comfortable with talking to Nishiki about things that were more biologically related. Second, he had an organ transplant. That alone caught my attention. I really wanted to hear more about this, so I started asking questions.

Something tells me that this guy is different. And not just in a recluse way.

* * *

 **And there we are, the first of many sidestories that I plan to make. By the way, I've hit a slight writer's block problem for Reaching Out, so expect it to take a couple more days, maybe up to a week before the next chapter is out.**


	2. The Prank

**Andy**

* * *

I wiped the sweat off my brow as I got home. Track practice had taken its toll on me and I really wanted a drink of water right now. What I didn't realize was that I was in for an unpleasant surprise.

"Tough day of work?" Sora asked, drinking from a water bottle. We were working on a project together, so he decided to come over to work with me on it. Sometimes I wonder why we can't just do it in his lab. He's the youngest student to ever get his own lab too. We could work all day undisturbed.

I nodded. "Coach had me run the equivalent of two marathons."

Sora winced. "That sounds… pleasant."

"Right. Is there any water left? I really need a drink."

"There should be some in the fridge still." Sora said.

There was something slightly off about Sora today. Not sure what it was though. As I opened the fridge and pulled out a water bottle, I heard Sora almost snort. Ignoring him, I popped open the bottle and raised it up to take a drink, only to find that my hand was now freezing cold from the chunk of ice I held in my hand.

Wait a second, ice?

In the background, I could hear Sora laughing his ass off. Leave it to him to figure out how to prank people in the most elaborate way possible. I shook my head and grabbed a different water bottle, only to be shocked when this one also froze in my hand.

It's a pretty neat trick that require timing to pull off. If you put a bottle of pure water in the freezer for long enough and then take it out, it'll freeze upon sudden movement. Which is exactly what happened to the water bottle in my hand.

I turned around. "Sora, are there any water bottles that you _didn't_ set to freeze?"

Still filled with mirth, Sora thought for a moment. "Umm, I think the ones in the outside fridge are fine.

As I went out, I popped a piece of ice into my mouth to cool off. As I opened up a bottle of water and tilted it so it would pour into my mouth, Sora suddenly called out. "Wait! Don't do it! Those bottles are—"

I have to say, having water crystallize into ice in your mouth is quite the experience. Fortunately enough, I could still breathe through my nose.

Sora sighed. "Great. Now we have to wait for it to melt. Did you really have to start drinking the water when you still had an ice cube in your mouth?"

Seeing as I couldn't say anything, the only thing I could do was glare at my cousin.

Eventually, after the ice finally melted, I drilled my cousin with a very unamused stare.

"Sora, if you try that again, I will eat you."

Sora smiled. "Well, I'll be sure to avoid getting eaten by you."

"Well then, I guess we can get started on the project." I said.

"Why are all the water bottles frozen?" My mom's voice echoed from downstairs.

Sora's face was suddenly drained of all color.

I sighed. "Looks like we have some explaining to do first.

* * *

 **So basically this is the prank that Sora pulled on Andy (mentioned in chapter 20 of Reaching Out).**

 **Next chapter in sidestories will be either after Reaching Out ends (timeline-wise) or during chapter 20. Depends on which I finish first. I'm actually working on 3 different chapters at the same time. Two for Sidestories and one for the main story.**


	3. Years Later

**A/N: This takes place many years after Reaching Out finishes. At this point, I may not have finished Reaching Out yet, but I decided to add in a good little bit of stuff that I needed to get out of my head regarding the story.**

 **Hikari**

* * *

"That pretty much covers everything there is about the effects of organ transplants on the human body. If you have any questions, you can talk to me during your lunch period or right after your school gets out." Our guest speaker for our biology class concluded.

With that, we made our way to lunch.

"Wow. That was easily one of the coolest guest speakers ever. All that stuff about organ transplants was amazing!"

"Did you know that he's actually a ghoul?"

"Wait, really?"

"No joke. I heard he was the one who developed the enzyme pills and synthesized meat so that ghouls and humans could coexist."

"That's amazing! We should ask him more about it after we get food."

"Come on! Let's go grab lunch quickly and then go back to the classroom."

I shook my head in amusement as I watched the two biology enthusiasts run off to the cafeteria to grab their food before going back to the classroom.

Alright, maybe I should explain a bit of what happened. Our biology teacher managed to get her hands on a guest speaker, a highly renowned biology professor at MIT that won the Nobel Prize for Medicine. The biology professor's name is Sora Chao. He's a one-eye ghoul with two kagune. He was also responsible for bridging the divide between ghoul and humans through developing synthesized meat and enzyme pills in order to solve the problems of ghouls feeding on humans. But a lot of that is public information. What most people don't know about him is that he used to be human but was turned into a ghoul through an organ transplant, he married Mika Shiraishi almost twenty years ago, he used to work at a coffee shop called Anteiku, and he founded a company in order start mass producing the synthesized meat and enzyme pills before eventually closing down the company and letting the government handle all the production stuff. He also has the ability to access a kakuja. Eventually, he found himself at a job as a biology professor at MIT.

You may be wondering right now, how do I know all this? Well, there's only one reason. Sora Chao and Mika Shiraishi had a daughter about a year after they married. I'm that daughter.

I guess I should introduce myself first. My name is Hikari Chao. I'm a high school student in my sophomore year, I'm also one of the top students in my class. Go figure. My parents were top students back when they were in school. I guess it passed down through generations. My dad even gave me a guide to studying in case I ever needed it.

People often aren't sure whether I resemble my mother or father. I mean, I have the same dark blue highlight going down the front of my hair that my mother has, as well as her face shape, but I have my father's mismatched eyes as well, which makes me look kinda funny. I have a red right eye and a blue highlight in my hair. I'm not quite sure how much more my face could contrast itself. Probably not that much more.

I don't really talk about my parents' achievements that much. Mom and Dad have a ton of things that make people respect them, but it's not like they hang up these achievements for everyone to see. Literally the only decoration in that regard around the house is the Nobel Prize that dad won and mom's acceptance letter to Kamii University. The only reason Dad even hangs up the Nobel Prize is because "the committee would be mad if I left it in the corner gathering dust." Mom's on the other hand, is a lot more personal for her. I asked her why she would frame the acceptance letter of all things. According to her, "I would never have met your father had I not gone to Kamii."

"Hey, Hikari! Wait up!" A voice called out.

I turned to see one of my ghoul friends, Rin, running to catch up with me. Even if I didn't recognize the voice, I could always recognize Rin by her red hair that she always had up in a ponytail.

"So what are you getting for lunch?" Rin asked.

I frowned. "I'm not sure. I'm still trying to decide between a regular lunch and synthesized meat."

"Lucky!" Rin whined. "I can't eat the regular human food without my enzyme pills. And I forgot them today!"

I guess I could be considered an anomaly among ghouls (as if my heritage wasn't enough). For some reason that my father is still trying to figure out, I could eat/digest human food as easily as I could ghoul food. It's really weird because I don't even need enzyme pills to eat human food. The only thing that my father managed to figure out was that for some reason, my taste buds have the ability to switch between ghoul mode and human mode. He and I both agreed that it didn't make sense. After all, I'm practically 3/4th ghoul. You'd think I would be more adverse to eating human food than my dad is.

I sighed before rummaging through my pocket and giving Rin a pill. "Here. My dad always tells me to keep a box on me just in case someone needs it."

"Your dad is a lifesaver." Rin breathed a sigh of relief.

We eventually decided on getting chicken sandwiches from the cafeteria before sitting down to eat the food.

"So I heard all the biology classes have a guest speaker today from MIT and I know that you just had yours. So who's the speaker? Is he hot?"

My eyes bugged out for a second before my thoughts tried to unjumble themselves. My dad? Hot? Is Rin saying that she wants to check out my dad?

"I thought you had that thing with James or something."

"We broke it off about a week ago. And besides, a speaker from MIT? This could be my chance to get in good with the biology department. And besides, I hear that jobs at MIT pay well. I could get away with not needing a job." Rin said.

I rolled my eyes. "Leave it to you to think that unrealistically."

There are some very disturbing images going through my mind right now. I know my father would never let anyone near him in that manner besides mom, but there is something very strange about hearing your best friend go on about how she might get hitched with your dad. Even if said best friend doesn't know that it's your dad.

"Hey, a girl can hope, right?"

…Does anyone have brain bleach that I could apply in excess on my brain?

"Don't you have biology right after lunch?" I asked. Rin was making me a slight bit uncomfortable. I know for a fact that Rin is always scouting out for hot guys, but to think that my dad might be on that list is somewhat… creepy.

"You know what, I can wait until my class then. It's not like the speaker is going to leave before school gets out." Rin said, finishing up her lunch. "I'll see you later!"

My best friend freaks me out. Go figure.

* * *

"You could have just told me that the speaker was your dad."

"You try making your brain work when there's a possibility that your best friend is about to hit on your dad."

"Hey, I did nothing. Besides, can you blame me for hoping?"

"Yes, I can."

No, I really can't. Especially since Rin has been doing stuff like this for years. Sometimes I wonder how we became best friends.

Classes had finished and Rin and I were walking out to the pickup zone, where we were supposed to wait for my dad. We were giving Rin a ride home, seeing as we didn't live that far away from each other. A few moments later, my dad pulled up in his car.

As Dad drove us home, Rin pegged him with more questions about the effects about organ transplants and the like. Which then prompted me to remember that Rin and I became best friends because we both really got into studying biology. Although Rin's focus was more… coitus-related once we started hitting that age. Don't get the wrong idea, she doesn't get around like what you think. She just… dreams a lot. I think she did it with someone once. Not sure who. I lost track of the relationships she was in after a while.

On the other hand, relationships and I don't mix. I mean, the only people my parents ever dated were each other. Mom spent years rejecting guys while Dad was a recluse back before he met Mom. So I'm sticking away from relationships for a while.

After we dropped Rin off at her house, Dad started driving us home. As we were driving home, Dad breathed a sigh of relief.

"Phew. I didn't think your classmates would ask so many questions, Hikari." Dad said.

I shook my head. "I don't know why they found the organ transplant stuff interesting. It's not new information to the scientific realm."

At that, Dad laughed. "And I wonder why your mother says that you take after me. It's only old news for you because you've been asking me those questions since you took that science class in 6th grade. I still remember that time you took my research paper to try and figure out why people have different colored hair. I think you gave up after about an hour of reading it."

I pouted. Leave it to Dad to remember all the embarrassing stuff that I do. "How else was I supposed to figure out how uncle Kaneki had white hair even in his wedding photos?"

"Well, you could have asked a very convenient source of information known as your father." He pointed out.

"You were busy with creating a syllabus for the class you were teaching at MIT!"

"You still could've asked your mother. She knows also."

"Mom told me to go search it up like a proper researcher! She said that she wanted to see if I could put my research brain to use."

Dad laughed. "So that's why you took my research paper. Just for the record, you grabbed the wrong one."

"I figured as much." I replied drily. The research paper in question wasn't even about the genetics of hair. I must have spent that entire hour on it trying to find something on hair when I realized that it was just a paper on the structure of the tongue. How I messed that up I will never know.

When we got home, Mom opened the door for us. According to Dad, the years haven't really made that much change to her. For someone in her late thirties, Mom looked like she was in her late twenties. Dad looked like he was in his mid-thirties, which made a bit more sense than Mom. Although I remember Dad saying something along the lines of Asian people usually aging slower than other races. I guess that applies to ghouls as well as humans.

As we all worked to prepare dinner (one of our family pastimes), Mom popped the question. "How was today?"

"You would not believe the number of students that stopped by to ask me questions after school got out. I was trying to get to my car so I could pick up Hikari and there were people asking questions everywhere. I think more than half of them were ghouls." Dad said as he cut the carrots.

"You should've seen what happened to me." I said. "'Hey Hikari, isn't the guest speaker your dad? Do you think he could help get me admitted into MIT?' The guy didn't talk to me before that. And he was a senior too!"

Dad laughed. "I don't even do anything with the admissions office. How am I supposed to help your classmates?"

"I don't know, Sora. You have a ton of influence in the biology department, they'd probably listen to you if you asked them to consider someone's application." Mom said.

Leave it to Mom to know exactly how much pull Dad has at MIT. While Mom didn't go to MIT, she did go to Kamii University. Which is where she met Dad when he went there as a foreign exchange student. Apparently, it was quite the time in their life.

"What kind of a faculty member would I be if I eased someone's admission process because they asked Hikari to ask me?" Dad asked.

"Sora, we all know that you would never say 'no' if Hikari asked you for something." Mika said.

Dad looked miffed. "That's ridiculous. I have most definitely said 'no' to Hikari before."

"Dad, when was the last time you actually said 'no' to me?" I asked. I'm being serious too. I don't even remember the last time he denied me something that I asked for.

"Thirteen years ago. You asked for a puppy. I told you 'no' because I was allergic." Dad didn't even take a second to think of an answer.

"Wait, seriously?"

"Mhmm. You refused to talk to me for the better part of an hour. I can still remember it. Your mother had to talk to you before you started talking to me again."

"I did that? I don't even remember doing that."

"You were three years old. Three year old children are very liable to forget things. Especially if it's not happy stuff." Dad said.

"Wait, so you haven't refused anything I asked for since I was three years old?" I asked.

"Your father does spoil you, you know. You just take it much better than other children would if they were spoiled." Mom pointed out.

"That's because you're there to help set her right if she misbehaves, Mika." Dad told Mom.

So my dad spoils me and my mom makes sure I learn proper manners. Quite the combo they have going on for them.

"Well, dinner's ready now. Let's eat!"

* * *

I was feeling a bit sick after dinner and both Mom and Dad thought it would be better if I went to bed immediately. Dad came up to check on me for a bit before going back down. I stopped him from leaving my room though.

"Hey, Dad?"

"Yeah Hikari?"

"Can you tell me a story?"

Stories were some of our precious bonding moments when I was younger. I asked Dad to tell me stories from time to time, even as I got older and older. The last time I asked him for one was actually just before I turned sixteen.

Dad nodded before sitting down. "What do you want to hear?"

"Tell me how you met mom again?"

Dad only smiled before starting the story. "Well, it all started when I got an offer to be a part of a foreign exchange program in Japan…"

* * *

 **I might make this into an actual story one day, so I wanted a prototype chapter to look at once Reaching Out is finished.**

 **Ghoul reaction to enzyme pills is coming up next. Will take at most a week.**


	4. First Experiences (part 1)

**So this is going to play through some of the first-time experiences that ghouls have with the enzyme pills.**

 **Kaneki**

* * *

"It'll allow you to taste human food for what it is."

That's what Sora said when he gave me the box. I looked at the pill in my hand, thinking about it for a while. I figured I could give it a try.

As I got ready to go out, Hinami noticed me going. "Oh, Onii-chan, where are you going?"

I guess it couldn't hurt to bring her along. "I'm going out to try Sora's enzyme pill. Do you want to come also?"

Hinami looked uncertain. "Trying out… human food?"

I smiled, before patting Hinami on the shoulder. "Hey, it'll be fine. Sora wouldn't give us something that didn't work."

As I said those words though, my mind trailed back to that day where he had us test out his first enzyme pill prototype. Maybe I was giving Sora a bit too much credit.

It seemed to do the trick for Hinami though. "Right! Onii-san would never do that."

I guess she's coming with me then. Although, come to think of it, I'm Onii-chan while Sora's Onii-san. That's interesting. Oh well, thoughts for another time.

We finally found a burger place after a bit of searching. It may not have been Big Girl, but burgers are burgers. My mouth started watering a bit at the prospect of being able to finally taste burgers again. Hinami, on the other hand, looked a bit apprehensive. I don't blame her. She's never actually eaten human food with the pill before. Then again, neither have I, but I trust Sora as long as it doesn't involve me being a test subject. I can still imagine what would've gone wrong had Sora not put the numbing agent in the pills.

I got two glasses of water and ordered two burgers. As we were waiting, I passed Hinami a pill.

"Here, take it with the water. Sora put down instructions for us to follow." I said.

Hinami looked at the pill. "How did Onii-san figure out all of this?"

That's… a really good question. I was going to ask him, but I didn't even remember half of the stuff that he said about the enzymes and tongue structure and all that stuff. If I remember correctly, he did a ton research or something like that.

"I'm not sure. I think he just did a lot of research." I said, popping the pill into my mouth. Hinami followed suit a moment later.

After I took the pill, my tongue felt slightly different from before. Once the burgers came around and I took my first bite, my eyes widened as I tasted the hamburger for what it was, not the pig intestines that it tasted like when I first ate it after I became a ghoul. I almost cried in joy.

I can eat with Hide again without having to fake it.

Hide… I guess he's worried about me right now. I wonder how he's doing. Much as I would want to go back, I can't just yet. I have things I need to do, places I need to go, people I need to see. Hopefully Sora explains to him what happened. At the very least, I'm glad he hasn't treated me any differently despite knowing what happened.

I glanced over at Hinami, seeing how she was doing.

* * *

 **Hinami**

* * *

So this is how humans taste meat? It's such an interesting flavor.

I took slow bites, careful to savor the flavor. It's so delicious… and so different. I don't know how else to describe it. It's not disgusting like those times when okaa-san had me try to eat human food to practice fake eating. I wonder though, why is it so brown? There's some pink inside that makes sense because meat is pink, but why is the rest of it brown?

"Onii-chan?"

"Yeah Hinami?"

"Why is the hamburger brown?"

"Huh? Oh! That's the result of cooking."

"Cooking?" The word wasn't unfamiliar to me, I just never learned the idea behind it.

Onii-chan explained. "Most raw meats are a risk to human health, because they have a lot of bacteria in them that are harmful to humans. So to reduce risk to human health, the meat is cooked. When it's cooked, it turns to a different color."

"Why is that?" I was really curious now."

"Uhh, I'm actually not sure. I think Sora might know more about this." Onii-chan scratched the back of his head.

I giggled. So there are things that even Onii-chan doesn't know!

The potatoes were… I don't know how to describe the taste.

"Onii-chan, how do you describe the taste of potatoes?" I asked.

"Hmm. I think starchy would be a good word."

"Starchy?"

"Yeah. Containing starch. Starch is mostly what makes up a potato. There's some other stuff, but starch is the primary ingredient."

Huh. The starch tastes really filling. It's like powder, but at the same time it's not. Maybe more like clumps of powder. It sounds weird, but that's really the best way I can describe a starchy flavor. I think?

* * *

 **Tsukiyama A/N: I can't really do Tsukiyama. My brain simply does not have the capacity to embrace Tsukiyama's flowery language.**

* * *

Hmm. What should I order from this restaurant? It seems an injustice that we are not allowed to try out all the aspects of fine dining at once, seeing as humans make so many different foods for eating. It makes me wonder, do they truly understand what being a gourmet means? Although I suppose we cannot expect a true gourmet among humans, as they each have their own preferences as to the taste of things. Not to mention the fact that they would not find human meat all that appealing like I do.

I still remember the first time I ate something after taking the pill. I must say, I didn't expect flavors to be that intense. Although I guess it was to be expected, seeing as we've never used these taste buds before.

"Kaneki-kun, are you sure we can't order everything?"

"Absolutely. If we want to blend in, we can't eat more than the average person does."

"You are absolutely certain about this?"

"I am." He said.

"If Onii-chan thinks that this is the best way to do things, then we should probably take his word for it." Hinami said.

That's right, he used to be human. Although I guess he's never had luxury foods before. It makes sense.

Ah, our Kobe beef has arrived. Tres Bien! If reputation is to be believed, this is a most delectable dish. While it is pricey for most people, it is also of the highest quality. At least, that is what I have been told. As I have not had it without Sora-kun's pills, I cannot be sure as to the quality of the meat.

One bite cast away all my doubts. This flavor… it's so intense. You can taste the refinement in the flavor, as well as the blend of meat juices in it. If the Kobe steak is this good, then perhaps the other things on the menu are just as tasteful.

"Waiter!"

"Tsukiyama, no!"

"But—"

"Look, restraint is a virtue, alright? You can always order the other things on this menu the next time we come here, alright?"

I sighed. "Fine."

* * *

 **So yeah, poorly executed if you ask me. I'll post the next set of first-time experiences with the enzyme pills at a different time.**


	5. Family

**Instead of going on Anteiku's side of the enzyme pills, I just thought of what I would do regarding Sora's family history. Enjoy!**

* * *

So a look at Sora's family history (His ghoul family history):

Mother: Yoruko 'Yo' Chao née Minami, 1/8th ghoul. Video game fanatic all the way back to when they were first coming out. Was able to get a chance to look at Kingdom Hearts back when it was in its early conceptual stage, which was where she met Sora's father, another video game fanatic. Also how Sora ended up getting his name. Poor kid. Also a fantastic gambler.

Grandfather: Samuel Minami, Yo's father. 1/4th ghoul, first of the family to be able to eat human food without adverse side effects. However, this came at the apparent cost of being unable to access kakuhou/kagune. Able to eat human meat like other ghouls, but didn't get as much nutrition out of it as his father. Managed to convince his wife to allow him to give their child a Japanese name in order to preserve what was left of his Japanese pride.

Great-grandfather: Katsuro Minami, father to Samuel Minami, one-eyed ghoul. One of the first one-eyed ghouls in existence. He grudgingly allowed his wife Janna to give their child an English name after seeing how another Japanese child was mocked by his schoolmates for his 'funny' name.

Great-great grandfather: Masashi Minami, the original member of the family from which the family inherited their ghoul blood. Had a sibling that came with him over to the United States from Japan, direct ancestor to the ghoul side of Sora's family. Married a human and indirectly discovered how half-ghouls could be born when Katsuro was born through his wife's dedication to family.

* * *

Unlike their more human side of the family, the ghoul side of the family fully embraced American names and culture, being less stubborn about the whole thing than the human side.

Andy Minami: Sora's best friend. He and Sora did almost everything together as children, often working together to prank their not-so-amused parents. They even developed their own secret code to communicate without other people knowing. Easily the smartest kids in their family growing up. Andy is two years older than Sora, also goes to MIT, and is somewhat miffed that his cousin gets his own personal research lab while he has to share with someone. To be fair, he's also an exercise nut, so that puts him lower on the priority list.

Richie Minami: Andy's brother, younger than him by about five years. Academically speaking, he's about average, and has to rely quite frequently Sora or Andy to teach him the schoolwork. Occasionally helps Sora or Andy prank the other. Has questionable tastes in music, according to Sora.

Lily Brown: The youngest member on both sides of the family, Sora adores her to no end, to the point that he is willing to spoil her and give her pretty much anything she asks for. Thankfully enough, the rest of the family is more than willing to teach Lily her manners so she doesn't get spoiled.

Deborah 'Deb' Minami née Brown: Andy and Richie's mother and Lily's aunt, both through the fact that Lily's mother Jessica is her sister-in-law and the fact that her brother Robert married Jessica. It's kinda weird.

James Minami: Andy and Richie's father and, obviously enough, husband to Deb. Out of all the members of the family, he is the most likely to lose a bet. Although that's mainly because he always bets against Yo and Yo only bets when she knows for sure that she'll win the bet.

Jessica Brown née Minami: In a funny twist of names, Jessica and Deb have easily the funniest names out of everyone, mainly because there's so many things connecting them. She would have had to take care of Lily by herself, except everyone else in the family pitched in to help raise her.

Robert Brown: Lily's father. He died about a year after Lily was born keeping a ghoul safe from the CCG. Not much else to say here. A great man who always protected the weak. It was what eventually led to his death.

* * *

Obviously enough, there's the family that's still in Japan, although most of them were wiped out, with Riku being the only survivor. However, some of the family is still known.

Riku Minami: The last survivor of the Minami family in Japan. The family lived in Tokyo for the longest time before his aunt Uruka was killed when he was one year old. The family moved over to Kyoto, but was traced by the CCG and killed, with Riku only surviving because the CCG didn't realize that there was another member of the family and Andy helped him escape. Riku was eventually found by Aogiri tree and recruited into their ranks.

Uruka Minami: The reason the family moved to Kyoto, she was a high school student when she was killed by Kishou Arima, an investigator for the CCG. Circumstances regarding her appearance at the school in question led the CCG to believe that there was a family involved, which in turn led to the investigation of potential ghoul families that were in the area. Eventually, they were tracked down to Kyoto where all of them were killed except Riku. Put simply, she fucked up and got the rest of the family killed.

* * *

 **So yeah, that's some basic details as to Sora's family tree. I got inspired to write this while I was working on Chapter 21 of Reaching Out. Oh, and Uruka Minami is the same Minami from Tokyo Ghoul JACK. Thought that would be fun to put in.**


	6. Christmas

**I feel like writing a Christmas sidestory. I do believe a five-year old Hikari is in order.**

 **Mika**

* * *

The moment I woke up, I couldn't help but look at the alarm clock. 6 in the morning. Because Sora was on break, we didn't bother with setting the alarm. He probably would have woken up by now, but he got into reading an article on the latest advances in synthesizing organs for transplants late last night. However, I couldn't help but notice a very sneaky child trying to go down the stairs. I decided to grab her before she could proceed any further.

"Hikari, where do you think you're going?" I asked our daughter.

Hikari looked up at me hopefully with her different colored eyes (how in the world did she inherit her father's eyes?). "Christmas presents?"

Leave it to children to get up earlier than any college student would ever be willing to on Christmas just for the sake of presents. Unfortunately for said child, we have a very specific rule regarding opening presents.

"Remember Hikari, everyone has to be down there also. So no opening presents yet." I said sternly.

Hikari pouted before seeming to come up with an idea. "So if papa is awake, we can open presents?"

I sighed. There was no getting her out of this. "If you can wake him up, then yes."

"Ok!"

"No shouting though." I said.

Hikari approached Sora, completely undeterred by my restriction on her. Since the bed was taller than her, she had to tiptoe to look over the bed. Once she did though, she proceeded to poke her father in the cheek until he woke up.

Obviously, this didn't work for her. I've actually done this myself tons of times when he's been asleep (his cheeks are really stretchy. How could I not?), so I knew that it wasn't going to be enough to wake him up.

I completely underestimated our daughter's determination to open Christmas presents though. Hikari narrowed her eyes when the poking didn't work, and then proceeded climb onto the bed before jumping on top of Sora.

"Ow!"

Well, that woke him up. I picked up Hikari before she could jump again. "Hikari, don't do that again. Jumping on people isn't healthy for them."

"Why couldn't you give her that lesson before she jumped on me, Mika?" My husband groaned, slowly getting up. "And Hikari, why are you up at" he glanced at the clock "six in the morning?"

"Because Mama said that I needed to wake you up before we could open Christmas presents!" Hikari chirped.

Sora looked at the clock. "Right… today's Christmas. Give me a moment and then we can go downstairs to open gifts, alright?"

"Yes!" Hikari pumped her hand up in the air from where I was holding her.

As I let her down, she ran downstairs, probably to start inspecting gifts and figure out which one she should open first.

"You know, I wonder where she gets all of this energy from. I certainly wasn't this energetic when I was her age, and I don't think you were either." Sora said, getting up.

I could only smile. "I think she actually gets it from Seiichi. Believe it or not, he was literally the biggest troublemaker in the family back when we were in elementary school. He mellowed out when he got to middle school, but he was such a troublemaker before then."

As we started walking downstairs, Sora's brain seemed to start working. "Alright, I got every present on the list, Kaneki's family is in town for dinner… is Seiichi a no-show again?"

I shook my head. "Apparently he and his girlfriend have this event going on tonight."

"I swear, he might as well propose. They've been together for what, three years now?"

"Four. You didn't get too many presents, right?" I asked.

Sora shook his head. "There were four presents that Hikari really wanted. I got those and then picked three out of the twenty she had on her list."

"And I thought you were going to get everything on the list. You do love spoiling our daughter." I sighed in relief.

"Hey, I know how to show restraint… sometimes. But honestly, I'm just glad she didn't ask for dolls. I was not going to get caught walking into one of those shops."

"Oho! So even my husband has his moments where he can be restrained." I teased.

"Give me a break, won't you?" Said husband complained.

"Nope. Not a chance. You're stuck with me for the rest of your life, you know." I said with a wink.

"And I wouldn't trade it for the world." Sora replied, kissing me before we finally got to the living room where our daughter was looking through her gifts, trying to decide which one to open up first.

She finally decided on one and looked up at us. "Can I open them now?"

I couldn't help but smile. "Go for it."

And just like that, Hikari tore into the gifts. The moment she opened her first present, a stuffed penguin, she squealed in delight. Sora couldn't help but smile.

"Come on, Hikari. You know that's not your only gift, right?" He asked.

She needed no more prompting as she began opening her next gift, which turned out to be a picture book that guided the reader through the human body.

I looked wryly at my husband. "Really? That was on her list?"

He held his hands up in surrender. "Hey, I just read it off the list. Besides, she asked. And you know how I act when Hikari asks."

"Fair enough." I conceded as I went to grab my present for Sora. Sora did the same and grabbed his present for me. Hikari, on the other hand, continued to murder the wrapping paper to get to her presents (We shall hold a funeral for the wrapping paper later). I think Sora might have went a little overkill this time around when he got presents for our daughter.

As I opened Sora's present for me, I couldn't help but smile. Leave it to him to frame the family picture that we took and make it look good. Ironically enough, I got a similar present for him.

"A photo album?" My husband asked, a slight smile on his face as he finished unwrapping his present.

I shrugged. "Well, we can't leave our photos everywhere now, can we?"

"Can't disagree with you there." Sora said, as he went upstairs to grab all our photos.

Once he came back down with them, we started sorting them out.

"Oh look, here's the one from the school formal!"

"Hey, I found the one from when we first started our operations in Tokyo."

"Aww, Look at this! Touka looks so beautiful in her wedding photo."

"Kaneki looks downright awkward in his suit though."

"Oh come on, it's all part of the charm."

After we finished sorting them, Sora turned to Hikari, who was busy digging herself into the book on the human body. "Hey Hikari, want to go flying for a bit?"

Hikari looked up, excitement in her eyes. "Flying?"

Sora smiled. "Let me get your safety harness and then we can go, alright?"

"Ok!"

A few moments later, father and daughter were out in the yard, with said daughter securely strapped on to Sora's back.

"Alright, ready to fly, Hikari?"

"Yeah!" Hikari pumped her little first in the air.

"Hold on tight!"

With that, Sora unfurled his wings and started flying. I could only smile as I listened to Hikari's squeals of delight.

It's been years since we've last had to fight for our lives or cause, but I couldn't help but feel happy every time.

Peace is a beautiful thing.

* * *

 **All hail the Christmas chapters. I felt like getting this one out, so I spent all night working on it. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it.**


End file.
